A Little Dove in an Eagles Nest
by AJay131
Summary: When Tony receives a strange gift, the Avengers are called together to keep watch.
1. Chapter 1

Tony Stark hated receiving gifts. Yeah it was awesome to have new play things, but it meant that he would have to send thank you notes, and he hated wasting valuable lab time writing pointless thank you notes that would only end up in the bin at a later date.

Yet Tony was not expecting the gift he received on a freezing cold day in January. Partly because Christmas was over and his Birthday was not for at least another five months. But due to the fact that he would of never imagined to find a half dead girl left crumpled up on his tower doorstep, let alone one with a tag around her neck and long flowing white hair.

Tony immediately looked around to see if anyone was playing a joke on him, no one was about outside and the security lights had turned off, who ever was here had long since disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.

"Jarvis, get Pepper down here now!" Tony called out, as he checked the girl's pulse. "She is on her way down Sir, would you like me to wake Dr. Banner?" Tony jumped as the girls left arm twitched, and watched closely as blood began to run from her nose onto the entrance floor. "Yes, but carefully Jarvis the big guy would not be helpful right now" "I shall make sure to keep him calm Sir" Tony nodded in thanks as Peppers footsteps came into earshot.

"Tony, if this is because you want me to sign for another one of your parcels I will hit you with… what in Gods name is going on here!" Pepper immediately dropped to her knees beside the girl and moved her head in close to check her breathing. She looked up at Tony as he ran a hand through his hair, deep in thought. Pepper sighed and jumped up to grab the door. "Well pick her up, she cant stay there all night can she!" Pepper flashed her worried eyes at him and back to the mess on the floor. He stared at the girl for a moment too, not liking where this was going and seriously considering getting electric gates around the base of the tower. But Pepper was worried and he hated that so he did as he was told and scoped up the girl, being careful not to bump her head on the door as he carried her in.

Bruce was on his way down to where Jarvis had instructed him to go, completely in a daze of sleep and confusion. He felt anger bubbling inside him due to the lack of sleep he had been getting in this new environment, how was it that the only night he had gotten to sleep straight away was the night he gets interrupted with what he thought was another of Tony's discoveries or creations.

He heard Pepper and Tony down the hall and placed his right hand in his left and took a long deep breath. They rounded the corner and Bruce stopped in his tracks. Tony was cradling a young girl in his arms, whose grey shirt and black jeans were completely covered in dirt and blood. "I always miss the good stuff" he sighed as Tony rolled his eyes. "I was about to make a Coffee when Jarvis said the front door camera had picked up movement"

Tony cleared his throat as Pepper held open the door to a guest room. He laid the girl down on the bed and turned to Bruce and shrugged. "She hasn't opened her eyes since I found her and her nose has recently started bleeding. I mean, I'm no doctor but this girl has been in a bit of a scrape." Tony pointed at the deep cuts on her arms. Bruce moved in to check her vitals to make sure that she was breathing consistently and that her neck was not damaged in any way.

Pepper had placed her small hands over her mouth in concern. "Should I phone someone?" Bruce turned and shook his head; he looked at Tony who had now settled to twirling his thumbs, staring at the tag around the girl's neck. "She has concussion hence the bleeding nose, but there is nothing else wrong with her that I can see right now, and her vitals are pretty normal." Pepper looked relieved and then confusion swept over her tired face. "Who in their right mind leaves a girl in that kind condition on some random doorstep?" As if reading Tony's mind, she took a step towards the girl and began reading the tag around her neck. "Dear Avengers. When the smoke of burning men fills the air: A smoke that no wind can fend. When you take a breath and you declare: This is when it really ends." She looked up at Tony who had raised his eyebrows in contemplation.

"Jarvis, set up a line to Fury for me please. Then find out where that quote comes from" Tony waited for the line to connect and then for Fury to speak first. "This better be worth my time Stark, I'm a busy man" Fury's voice boomed across the room, Tony cleared his throat again and said in the most monotonous tone he could conjure. "Fine, if your not interested in the half dead person that just got left at my front door with a note addressed to the Avengers, be my guest and carry on with your paper work…" Pepper smiled when Fury's line went silent temporarily. There weren't many times when Fury was lost for words. "I'm on my way with Barton, leave the door unlocked" And the line went dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Fury was a man with a plan, when things sprung up on him he became agitated and easily enraged. Barton knew this of course and remained silent for the journey from Headquarters to the Stark Tower.

As he had instructed the front doors were left open yet he stalled at the entrance and inspected the blood-smeared floor. Barton leaned down and smudged the blood with his finger. "Who ever it is, they must look a right state Sir" Barton stood up and opened the door for Fury; the angry man thanked him and stormed off into the house. "Jarvis where are they?" He stopped and stood looking up at the ceiling with determination, when the answer came he stormed off once again. Barton followed close behind as he burst through into one of Tony's guest rooms.

"The hell Stark?" Fury took one look at the girl and then directed his gaze to Tony who had sat down in the corner with Pepper on his lap. "Nick, she was just laying there on the floor of my entrance what was I supposed to do." Pepper shifted uncomfortably and then piped up. "She has a tag around her neck that you might want to take a look at" Fury turned and Bruce directed him to the small laminated tag around the girls neck. He stared with his intense eye before looking round, Barton was eyeing the girl carefully. "I take it she has not woken up at any point yet? How are her vitals Dr. Banner?" Bruce filled him in as Barton took a step closer and went to touch some of the girls white hair, as though he had never seen such a thing.

"Jesus!" Barton jumped back as the girls eyes flew open and darted around the room with extreme panic. Bruce was by her side in an instant checking vitals along side Pepper, who went to holding the girls hand. "Its okay sweetie, look your safe here!" She rubbed her thumb against the girls now shaking hand as if to calm her. Tony stood with the same look on his face as Fury, surprise. The girl's mouth went to form words yet all she could muster was a heart-breaking whimper; tears flowed from her large green eyes.

Tony had noticed the hand that wasn't being held by Pepper was slowly tightening into a fist around the bed sheets, he stared in awe as around him the lights starting flashing as if she was manipulating them. Alarms started ringing through out the tower. "Jarvis! What's going on?" Fury stared at the girl with his forceful eye as if he clicked it was her doing. "We seem to … of interference from … guest Sir, she … of jumbled signals into … our systems!" Tony stood dumbfounded as he listened to years of time, money and hardwiring fall to pieces. Pepper stood away from the girl, as did Bruce and Clint. Then as quickly as she had awakened she passed out, taking all the lights with her.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Just wanted to say thank you for the reviews and stuff, I actually thought people would hate it, its my first time writing so please comment if you think it sucks or if you know how I can improve! Thanks again!

…

Tony had spent the next hour arguing with Fury about the future of the white haired girl. Tony was not about to let the single most fascinating person to ever ruin his technology leave his house with out first explaining how she did it. Where as Fury wanted to put her in lockdown until she could be questioned over her identity and the nature of her powers.

After what seemed like an age Pepper stepped in and stated that if it made fury feel more at ease, the whole team could stay at the Tower to keep the girl contained. "I mean, we have plenty of rooms and there would always be someone around to help if she begins to act as she did." Pepper looked at Fury, she was not about to sit and watch Tony throw one of his famous tantrums. He looked back at her and sighed, "Fine… BUT if she does any damage or hurts any one I will take her down and she will be locked up!" He pointed fingers to all people in the room before storming out.

Barton punched the air and Tony regarded him with a sly grin. "Welcome to the Stark tower, Legolas" Tony moved forward to shake his hand and turned back to the girl. "I will watch her tonight in case she wakes again, you guys all go and crash" Tony moved his chair up closer to the bed as Pepper lead Barton to his new room, Bruce waved to him before leaving for bed, again.

Tony simply sat and stared. She looked peaceful now, like nothing had happened and she was a normal sleeping girl. He stared then at her hair, he reckoned it must flow down to at least the middle of her back. He could also tell that from how far her feet reached on the bed that she wasn't very tall. He then stared at her complexion; her skin was pale with the occasional patch of freckles. Then he stared at the cuts on her arms. It looked as though she had been tortured; the cuts started above her wrist and made their way one after the other up her arms. Why on earth did she have concussion? Why was she left on his doorstep? How does she manipulate technology? Was the poem a warning? Tony drifted off with all his questions flying around his head.

When morning came Tony could feel eyes bearing into him whilst he was still asleep. He opened his eyes and found the girl sat up dead straight staring at him. He moved slowly to face her and tried to smile. She looked confused yet never made a move to harm him; she folded her hands together on her lap and continued to stare at him. Tony was at a loss for words so decided to imitate Pepper, she always said the right things. "Good morning…sweetie" he immediately cursed himself for saying something so weird and out of character, but she seemed to understand and smiled at him.

Pepper didn't sleep well all night mainly because Tony wasn't there but also because she was worried about the girl. As soon as she woke up she got ready and headed to her room. She wasn't expecting much but a sleeping girl, yet the scene that greeted her made her grin and a huge weight lifted from her shoulders. The girl turned from Tony to Pepper and smiled even more.

"Good morning, I'm glad that you are awake and looking well this morning" Pepper slowly walked over to the bed and sat down carefully, trying not to upset her by being too close. _Good morning_. Pepper froze. She heard her speak yet her lips had not moved. The voice was as clear as day, where did it come from? "Did you just speak?" Tony gave her a look of concern and then looked back at the white haired girl. _Yes, Good morning_. Pepper gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "How do you do that?" Tony frowned at the girl with pure bewilderment. _I can read, enter and control people's minds._ Tony was lost, had she even spoken yet! He looked to Pepper. "What's going on?" The girl looked confused and then realized she had left him out, she flashed her emerald green eyes towards him and smiled sweetly. _Good morning Mr. Stark_. Tony stood up, shock sweeping through him. "She spoke through her mind, Pepper did you hear her?" Pepper nodded and turned to the girl. "Sweetie do you have a name?" She reached for the girl's hand and held it gently. The girls face faltered for a second and then looked straight at Pepper. _Jemima_. Her voiced chimed through Peppers mind, making her smile. "Jemima is a beautiful name"

Tony left Pepper helping Jemima clean herself up and get changed into something that wasn't covered in her blood; she was still extremely weak and could hardly walk so before he left he found her a wheel chair. He headed straight to the kitchen; he needed a drink to allow him to think straight. The kitchen was busy with Bruce and Clint making coffee and conversation about the clean up efforts in the city. Bruce clocked Tony first and looked to him as if waiting for a progress report, yet it was Clint who spoke up. "Mornin Tony! How is she?" Tony came to stand beside Bruce and grabbed a mug. "She was awake when I woke up, and seems to be fine" Clint looked Tony up and down and added. "Why does it look like you have just seen a ghost?" Tony looked up and then half laughed half frowned. "It's amazing really, but she talks through her mind. Like you can hear her but her lips aren't moving." Tony's voice was laden with uncertainty, and so were the looks of the other two men.

Pepper had found some clothes that she thought would fit Jemima, mainly because Jemima was a lot shorter than herself, she really had to do some searching. She ended up dressing Jemima in a grey shirt that fell down to her knees and some black leggings. "Are those ok for you?" Jemima stood in front of Pepper and Tony's bedroom mirror and tucked her hair behind her ear. _Thank you ever so much_. Pepper nodded in return and asked Jarvis where every one was hiding. "Every one appears to be in the kitchen Miss" Jemima looked towards the ceiling in confusion. _Where did that voice come from?_ Pepper turned and gestured towards the ceiling and stated in her simplest form. "Oh its Jarvis, he is Tony's personal computer system that we can speak to" Jemima looked from Pepper back towards the ceiling and smiled. "Come on, you look like you need some pancakes"


	4. Chapter 4

Hey again! Sorry I couldn't get the next chapter up sooner, it was my year 13 prom on Friday and then I was out last night too! ALSO, thanks for the reviews! I just hope you guys like it; please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong or if it starts to suck! Thanks again!

Jemima had never seen such a grand looking building, the halls just went on and on and all the surfaces were spotlessly clean. She knew there was no way she could manage to walk a whole hallway on her own at the moment, so she was thankful that Pepper had offered to push her in a chair. Pepper was nice she decided, she liked the way that the women acted kindly even though she had no knowledge or Jemima or where she came from or what she had done. Pepper had told her she had scarred Tony and herself when she turned up on their doorstep.

"You look deep in thought, what you thinking off?" Pepper leaned over Jemima's shoulder and smiled gently._ I'm really sorry about all this. _Pepper stopped the chair and moved in front of it. "You don't have to apologize, I'm just glad that you were not seriously hurt" Jemima smiled and looked to the floor. Pepper moved back to pushing the chair and they rounded the corner into the big open plan kitchen.

Jemima immediately saw Tony at the table drinking coffee; there was another man across the table from him with a loose fitted purple shirt and brown messy hair. He looked to Pepper and Jemima, got up and came across to greet them. Another Man slightly shorter but more muscular stood at the window, but turned as he heard them arrive and came over the same. "Good morning, my names Bruce! How are you feeling?" The man in the purple shirt had a pained expression on his face; she could tell that he was worried. Jemima frowned and shifted in her chair. _Good morning_. Bruce stood up and looked to Pepper who nodded encouragingly, he smiled back down at her and spoke gently. "Your name is Jemima am I right? It suits you" Bruce stood back and let the other man move down to her level. "My name is Clint Barton, I trust that you are feeling better this morning?" Clint had a very hushed voice; it made Jemima feel more relaxed. He moved his hand out for her to shake, so she slowly took it and let him shake her hand. _Hello Clint, I am feeling better thanks._ Clint beamed at her and turned to Tony who was watching them intently. "That is the coolest thing in the world"

Breakfast was really pleasant, Jemima had never sat for a meal with any one before and she reveled in the felling of being welcome. She ended up sat between Clint and Pepper and they didn't mind either way. "Tony, when are the others due to arrive?" Pepper placed her cup of juice down and regarded him with a soft expression. "Erm, Natasha was getting some more training in then heading over and Cap is on his way" Jemima placed her cutlery neatly on her half empty plate and looked to Tony with concern. _Are these people friendly?_ Tony chuckled and everyone looked at him as if he had gone mad. "Cap is friendly yeah, he will probably call you Ma'am and ask if your ok every few seconds. But as for Natasha, she will constantly look angry and mean but deep down she is only slightly angry and mean" Clint giggled and Jemima turned to him with a worried look. _Does she not scare you? _Clint stopped and sighed. "She isn't all that bad, she is just hard to get used to is all, plus she wont be mean to you" Jemima took note and nodded.

"Right, when your finished Jemima, I would like to ask some questions" Tony shifted in his seat to face her head on and she looked at him uncomfortably. _What kind of questions? _He smiled not wanted to scare the girl too much. "Just about yourself and where you come from" She nodded but pulled a pained expression. The others all got up and moved to separate parts of the kitchen so she didn't feel too much pressure. Bruce moved to stand at the worktops behind Tony and watched attentively as he began his interrogation.

"Where are your parents?" was his first question, if she had some he would be getting in contact straight away to complement them on their grand parenting skills. _No I have no parents._ He looked up from his notebook and sighed. "I'm sorry" She smiled in return and looked back down at the table. "Where had you been staying prior to your arrival on my doorstep" This made Jemima look into the distance with a confused look on her face. _I don't know, I over heard someone once say that the traffic was bad, does that help? _Tony nodded, added to his notebook and then frowned. "Were there no windows where you stayed?" She looked up at him and sighed. _I was kept locked up in a small white room in the middle of the building, I don't remember being put there and I don't remember much about being taken out. _

He thought for a moment and set his pen down. "I was kept in confinement once you know, you can tell me about it? I don't have to tell the others if you don't want?" He looked at her green eyes as they glanced up from the table. _They would bring me liquids twice a day and the doctor would come and visit me once a week. He would bring all sorts of knives and sharp objects to test if I was responding to his treatment._ Tony didn't know how to respond, how long had she been in that room? _I remember one of the men who would bring me liquids rushed into my room on my last day and told me to get up and follow him. I had never gotten up before and couldn't manage it so he carried me out of my room and push a needle into my arm; I woke up this morning in your house. _He looked at her and decided that she needed friendly attention more than anything and she would be getting that with Fury at Headquarters.


	5. Chapter 5

Once again, thank you for all the reviews and favorites! Hope it doesn't suck too badly!

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Bruce insisted on taking Jemima down to the lab after her interrogation to do a blood test and a few more check ups to make sure they had not missed anything. Pepper left them to it as she had paper work to finish and Tony was giving Clint a tour of the tower.

_Bruce, are you ok?_ Jemima could feel the tense energy flowing from him and felt saddened that she affected him as such. "Ohh, its not your fault, I am always like this" He slowed down and keyed in his code that opened a sliding door and then pushed Jemima through. _Can I ask why?_ He cleared his throat and pushed her over to a medical bench. He leaned on it and faced her. "There are aspects of my personality that are harmful to others. So I tend to stay tense all the time"

Jemima looked confused and decided it would be quicker to see for herself. _Can I take a look?_ She lifted her hand up to him and he stared at it for a moment before looking back up at her. _It's just… I wont hurt you; I just want to see what you mean._ He stalled. What on earth was she trying to do? She looked so worried for him. Bruce decided to go for it; something about the girl calmed him any way. After pushing his glasses up his nose, he placed his hand in hers, and she gently held it on her lap.

She found Bruce's recollections of an attack on the city at the forefront of his memory. She pulled her self closer to them and sucked herself in. Bruce was there along side a man made of metal, another man in a long red cape, one in a star spangled uniform and Clint with a heavy bow and arrow next to a woman with short red hair. He began to turn towards a mechanic monster. Jemima watched in admiration as he bravely sprinted head on and then he changed and she felt herself compelled to understand more. She left that memory and found a similar one. She pulled herself in once again and watched, as there was an explosion inside a flying ship. Bruce fell through the floor with the red haired woman and began to moan. She could feel anger filling him and she watched as the red haired woman started to panic and tries to free herself from the fallen debris. Jemima moved closer to Bruce as he writhed on the floor turning green. Then his muscles exploded out from his clothes and he rose to stand tall. Jemima let herself come out of the memory and back to Bruce who was staring at her in wonder.

She let go of his hand and nodded. _You are a brave person Bruce_. Jemima smiled as she felt her energy fall off her and gasped wide eyed as a shiver ripped through her. Bruce stood immediately and took her shoulders, asking what was wrong but she couldn't answer. Her upper torso and legs started shaking uncontrollably and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Bruce took a deep breath and grabbed her from the chair and placed her on the medical bench as he shouted for Jarvis to get Tony. Bruce began to loose control of his breath and his hands had started to shake.

Tony appeared in a matter of moments with Clint right behind him. "What the hell happened? I thought you were treating her not making her worse" Tony rushed round beside the bed and tried to hold down her shaking limbs to no prevail. "Its almost as if she is having an epileptic fit" Tony glared at Bruce who was shaking a little himself.

Clint had moved to calm Bruce down as an ear-piercing shriek shook through the tower, exploding the lab lights and making everything in the room short circuit. All three men turned in time to see Jemima's eyes fly open flickering bright blue before canisters towards the back of room exploded, blasting everyone in different directions.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys, here is the next chapter! Hope it's up to scratch and not too rushed! Thanks again for all the favorites and reviews!

…

Steve Rogers had meet Pepper down at the reception and was asking how her day was going when the tower began to shake and an ear-piercing shriek echoed down through the hallways. Steve grabbed Pepper and moved them into a doorframe. "Is it an earthquake?" Peppers face was the picture of anxiety. She shook her head and pointed up at the ceiling. "Jemima and Bruce were heading to the lab for him to do a blood test, I bet you it came from there…" He nodded and told her to keep close as he ran to where the shriek had come from.

They entered the lab through where the door should have been. There was glass everywhere, bottles and beakers had been thrown across the room along with benches and heavy equipment. In the midst of all the mess Steve located Tony and Clint, who had been blasted against the right hand wall. Pepper moved straight to Tony who was sat up wiping blood of his head and hugged him tight. "I'm fine, just a scratch!" She kissed his head gently and looked around to where Clint was getting up and breathing out heavily.

Bruce had been knocked backwards into the back wall and was now shaking immensely. Pepper turned to Tony and whispered for him to call Fury but he insisted that the place was fit for the Hulk. "She has got to go into lock down Stark" Steve replied as he helped Tony up frowning at him.

Jemima woke up as Clint got to her; he stopped and looked warily at her placing his hand on his gun. _Did I do this?_ Tears welled in her now green eyes as she stared at him, waiting for him to speak. "No ones hurt so it's fine" She let a sob out and peered around the room. She clocked Bruce as he began to moan and she knew what was coming and felt a surge of guilt fall over her.

Clint went to pick her up and remove her from the room but she pushed him away and shifted herself up off the floor and stumbled over to where Bruce had been blasted.

Bruce saw the flash of white stumble towards him and gritted his teeth. "Get away" He spat! Jemima kept on coming. Was she stupid? Bruce thought. She saw what happens so why still come near. _I know that you can control him_. Her legs gave way and she fell to the floor next to him and placed her hands on each side of his face. To every one else it looked like they were staring each other down. _Look at me, I'm sorry, look at me please_. Bruce took deep breaths and stared into her huge green eyes. She didn't look scared and this shocked Bruce, she just looked apologetic. He could feel the other guy stir inside him and he groaned in pain, swiping at Jemima to get away hitting her square in the face. She fell back and bumped her head, but was soon getting back up and wiping the blood from her nose. _Bruce look at me, nothing is wrong, everyone is fine! Just let yourself fill with fresh air._

Bruce watched as she placed her hands back to his face and smiled kindly at him, a warm sensation flooded through her hands and into Bruce, coating his insides in a balm. He started taking in small breaths and her smile widened as his shaking subsided and the pain eased away.

Steve watched in awe as the white haired girl successfully subdued Banner. He had never seen someone with such determination. "How in Gods name did she manage that?" He looked to Tony who had a smug look on his face. "No one tells Fury! I can fix this in a day and he would never even know!" Every one looked to him. Pepper and Clint nodded in agreement but Steve sighed. 'We have to Tony, looked what she has done to your lab" Steve moved to stand in front of Tony gesturing to the mess around them. "Yeah but if this happened at headquarters Fury would put a bullet in her head faster than you can say popsicle, no offense" Steve frowned and looked back at the girl.

Tony knew keeping Jemima was risky but he liked her and he knew Pepper had taken a liking to her, plus he would rather have the odd flare-up in the Tower where it can be contained than have her locked up with no one to talk to, or worse taken down. Tony knew she didn't want to harm anyone. He was given a second chance and he would be dammed if he didn't give her one too.

Bruce lifted Jemima back into her chair where she fell asleep almost instantly. He gazed at her sleeping face, considering how such a frail looking girl could ever do so much damage with out even knowing, and then calm him down completely with just the touch of her hands and the sound of her voice. "Looks like you have a new friend Bruce"

Pepper made her way through the mess to them and smiled gently as Bruce cleared his throat. "She definitely is an intriguing character… erm I will take her to her room and watch her if you like?" He moved to the back of Jemima's chair and began to push her through the chaos and out the room before Pepper had a chance to suggest otherwise.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey Guys! Here is my next chapter; I hope it's not too bad and rushed! Thanks for the reviews and favorites and stuff, please tell me if I start to babble and ruin it! Thanks again x

…

Tony decided that even though he had said he wouldn't, he would tell every one else what Jemima had told him.

When Natasha arrived in the late afternoon he called Bruce down from her room and sat them all down to talk. "Down to business then, she is still asleep isn't she Bruce?" Bruce nodded and looked down at the table. "After asking Jemima questions, she told me about her past and it aint bright." He handed Natasha the notes because she was the person most in the dark about Jemima. "She had been kept in a tiny white room for as long as she can remember, hence why she is too weak to walk, she never even had to stand up before a few days ago."

Natasha glared at Tony and then back at his notes. "It says here that she was tested on?" Tony nodded in accordance to his notes, although he didn't know what the 'doctor' was testing. "She said that this doctor character came once a week to her little room with needles, knives and other sharp objects to test on her" He watched as Peppers face clouded over, and Bruce sucked in a deep breath. "She was tortured then?" Bruce felt anger bubbling up inside him once more at the thought of her in pain. "Pretty much" Tony agreed sighing.

"It would be nice to find this guy that helped her escape" Clint piped up, he took a swig of his coffee and turned to Natasha who had passed Tony his notes back. "Find him and we might get a clearer idea of where she came from and why she was kept in such confinement" She looked at Clint and he nodded. "That can be our job, if you guys don't mind?" Steve made his agreement shown. Tony put his thumbs up in the air and turned to Bruce.

"Big guy, you watched her since this morning so Steve can take over, then I will be watchman in the morning" Bruce smiled, relieved that he could try and get some sleep again. Steve stood up and headed to Jemima's room with out hesitation.

Once in her room he sat straight down beside her bed and stared out the window. _Good Evening_. He looked round at Jemima's sleeping form and frowned. She flashed her green eyes open and smiled. "Good Afternoon ma'am."

She sat up and immediately winced. She had hurt her head quite badly again after helping Bruce calm down. "You ok there?" Steve shifted in his seat to face her, yet not getting too close and she could sense that he was nervous. _I am fine; I just hit my head earlier. I'm sorry_. He looked confused, why was she apologizing for having a headache? "No need to apologize Miss" She smiled. _No_, _I'm sorry I make you nervous, I promise I don't want to hurt you_. Jemima looked at him through whips of stray white hair. Her eyes flashed wide all of a sudden making Steve flinch. _Is Bruce ok? He isn't hurt is he?_ Steve smiled "He is fine, now get some sleep" he stated calmly then watched as she drifted back off to sleep.

It got to about 9:30 before Jemima woke again; she turned over to see is Steve was still watching her. He was fast asleep on the sofa chair facing away from her. She sat up slowly and pushed the covers off her legs. She wanted to see Bruce, to make sure he was ok after she had hurt him. She hadn't meant to loose control again, and she felt the guilt rip through her.

She shifted her legs off the bed and stumbled into her chair being careful not to wake Steve. Once in she rolled herself to the open door. She had a vague idea of where he was, Pepper had showed her his room as they passed earlier that day. She set off down the hall managing to completely tire herself by the end of it. She was close she could sense his tense energy. She made one last push to the door on the right.

Bruce had just got into bed; his mind was swirling over the events of the day when he heard a knock at his door. Who the hell could it be now? He jumped up and opened it a fraction to see who there and when he didn't see anyone at face height he looked down to see Jemima looking worn out and nervous. He immediately opened the door wide with a shocked expression on his face. "What on earth are you doing here? Did Steve bring you?' He peered over her to see if he was round the corner but she was alone. _I came to see if you were ok_. She looked up with a pained look in her eye.

He moved behind her and pushed her into his room and shut the door. "I'm fine, actually I have been feeling much better after you… erm, helped me" She smiled but her eyes were still gloomy. _I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want to… I just_. Tears pooled in her eyes as she sniffed. She looked so delicate in her chair. Bruce noticed how she hardly filled the clothes that Pepper gave her, they were hanging off her every limb. "You have nothing to be sorry about, if anything I should be thanking you" She wiped a stray tear off her cheek and looked up at him confused. "You calmed me down after your fit. Even though I hit you" Bruce frowned at remembering that part.

He reached out and touched the bump on the back of her heard, guilt seeping through._ Its fine, it doesn't hurt any more._ He looked at her then placed his right hand in his left.

Jemima yawned and smiled at Bruce as he caught it and yawned too. Bruce chuckled and Jemima giggled lightly as he stared at her with wide eyes. "That's the first time I've heard you laugh" She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. _Sorry, you caught my yawn that's all_. He chuckled again, "Why are you apologizing?" She looked back up at him, green eyes bearing into his own. _Am I not supposed to keep quiet? _He glanced at her and shook his head. "Why would you think that?" He whispered as he moved towards her subconsciously. _I was told to never make a noise, or they would send the doctor in again. _Bruce frowned and stared at his hands."Jemima you can make as much noise as you want here, no ones going to hurt you!"

After a moment of silence Bruce stood up and sighed. "I should probably get you back to your room" Jemima took a breath and grabbed his hand, then let go as soon as she realized what she had done.

_Can I stay? I will sleep on the chair, I won't bother you, I promise. _He looked back down at her, surprised at her demand. It had been such a long time since anyone has asked to be around him, especially after them finding out about the other guy, how could he refuse? "Sure but I will sleep on the sofa over in the corner, you have the bed okay?" She smiled and nodded her head. _As long as you take the cover and I sleep under the sheet_. "Deal" He lifted her into the bed and took the folded cover from the end over to the cushion adorned sofa. _Goodnight_. Bruce grinned "Goodnight".


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys, once again here is the next chapter! I hope its not rushed its taken me ages to work up the courage to post it so! Please tell he if it sucks or how I can make it better for next time, thank you x

…

Steve was pissed. Tony knew this because he wouldn't speak to any one, and because he almost punched Tony when he had told Steve to 'Chill'. Tony also enjoyed watching him go into a strop after Jemima had apologized and Bruce had explained what had happened. Tony thought it was hilarious. Steve, the super soldier had let a girl, who doesn't know how to walk yet, get herself into a wheel chair and escape his watch while he slept.

"Jam, he will forgive you, don't let it get to ya!" Tony had decided that her name had too many syllables in it; therefore Jam was much better, which fitted well due to the fact that she would only consume strawberry jam (jelly) on toast. She looked at him and lifted her eyebrows. _I didn't mean to make the Captain angry_. She looked to Bruce who was across the room talking to Clint and Natasha, then back to Tony.

"You've taking a liking to the big guy haven't you?" Tony nudged Jam's arm and she looked down into her lap. _He is a brave person_. "That he is". Tony liked Bruce, when he had first agreed to stay in Stark Tower he was sure that they would get on well working together. Yet after the time they had spent living under the same roof Tony had come to even liking having someone other than Pepper to share daily routines with. Jam had also seen that side to Bruce, the one where he is so engrossed in helping that you barely even remember the fact that he could turn into an enormous great big rage monster.

The next week flew by in an instant with the team working together to find the organization that Jam escaped from and also to find more out about her powers. Fury called regularly for status updates and to make sure that Jam hadn't broken anyone or anything.

Bruce had her trying new mind tasks everyday, in which he found that she could not only read and project her voice into the minds of others, but that she could also move small objects with just thought. Although this tired her out immensely, the first time she tried she collapsed and slept for the rest of the day.

He was not only testing her mind but her health too, he had a feeling that the episodes were being caused by something like a mental illness or maybe even epilepsy. He filled his head with mental notes and theories; epilepsy could suggest that she had undergone brain surgery... _What are you thinking about?_ Jam gazed at him with a puzzled look. Bruce pushed his glasses up his nose and moved to face her. "Do you remember at any point in your… erm captivity, having the… 'Doctor' operate on your head?" He looked at her as her eyes fell to the floor.

She remembered it vividly; the memory still came to her in the form of nightmares in her sleep. Bruce moved closer as he saw her tense up and a frown spread across her usually smiling face_. One night the doctor took me from my room into a larger one and strapped me to a medical bench. Then he left me just lying there, I had no idea what he was doing or where he went, it was dark and cold, then after what seemed like forever he came back with a large tool and started drilling into my head. It hurt so much I thought I was going to die, sometimes when its dark I can still hear him laughing in my head like he did when he laughed over my screams_.

"Jam, that's enough… look at me." She was shaking again, her terrified green eyes overflowing with tears. Bruce kneeled in front of her and wiped the tears from her cheek then took her into his arms. She sobbed into his shoulder for what felt like hours and when she eventually calmed down he let her go and placed his hands on each side of her face. "I wont let any one hurt you again, I promise!" Bruce had felt this protective before. When Betty was helping him escape her dad he had wished that no harm ever came to her and now he felt the same about Jemima. He was not about to sit and let anyone hurt her.


	9. Chapter 9

Hey folks! Another Chapter, this one is kinda just put in so I can start setting up the rest of the story! Sorry if it's a tad boring or rubbish! Thanks for all the favorites and reviews again, I always love to see what you guys think of my story…

When she wasn't doing mind tests she was helping Bruce with any work Fury gave him, although she was not intelligent enough to lend a helping brain, she was always there to talk to and joke around with, lifting his moods. Bruce also took to letting her stay over night in his room due to fact that after the incident with Steve she managed to sneak to Bruce's room and sleep on his sofa another two times, once avoiding Tony and the second time avoiding Clint.

Bruce didn't mind though, he had gotten used to her turning up after her 'guards' had fallen asleep and chatting to him about the events that unfolded due to Loki until she dosed off. He had even turned his sofa into a proper bed so that they were both comfortable.

One of the main reasons Bruce liked having her around him was that she kept him calm, almost like she kept the other guy happy and asleep within him. The other reason being that she was always cheerful and this was a change to the general mood of the team. Bruce had found that after the events that unfolded in Manhattan, the team was always tired and or keeping to themselves. Yet with Jam around she lightened the mood. She made everyone's frame of mind shift from broody to laughing and joking around. Almost like she controlled the moods of the people she was around.

This all went out the window though when Fury popped in for his first visit since she was found bleeding on the reception steps of Tony's tower. After Jarvis had informed everyone of Fury's presence they all headed down to the kitchen area where they all sat on the large dinning table. Jemima immediately was pushed to sit in between Tony and Bruce and she let her eyes fall to her lap instead of at the angry man. "Right, where are we with locating this doctor?" His gaze bearing into everyone around the table as Clint and Natasha sat up ready to inform. "We have a few leads with the identity of the man who helped Jam, sorry Jemima escape. He left us some nice prints on the note and we ran them through every database we had." Natasha slid a profile across the table as Clint explained. Fury grabbed the profile and studied it while everyone sat in silence.

He turned to Jemima and held the profile up to her face. "Is this the man that helped you out?" She flinched as he held the profile closer and closer to her as if she was too stupid to understand. _Yes, that's the man who helped me_. She flinched again as he pulled the profile away and spoke with his booming voice echoing around the room. "Right, that is your main priority, find this man, bring him in and interrogate him." His attention turned to Bruce who had shifted his seat closer to Jam when he noticed her flinching. "How is she doing on the health side of things, Doc?" Bruce pushed his glasses reflexively up his nose and glanced at Fury. "She has had no other fits or episodes since you where here, I think this mainly is to do with the fact that I put her on anticonvulsants." He looked down at Jam who was staring aimlessly into her lap. _You can tell them about my head_. He sighed and looked back to Fury who was beginning to get bored of the general situation "Jemima told me that whilst in captivity she had her head tested on, therefore suggesting that the trauma to her brain is what causes the epileptic symptoms." Steve frowned and Tony gawped, as he had not heard this twisted bit of information, Fury just stared. "Fine, so if her health is under control she has no episodes?" Bruce nodded in agreement. "Ok well, she will continue to stay with you guys at Stark Tower, but if there is any problem she will be put in my facility! Do you understand?" Tony nodded and Natasha 'Yes Sir'd him.

Bruce noticed Jams shaking hands out the corner of his eye. As the others talked about how she could be used for interrogations within Shield, Bruce reached under the table and took her hand in his and gave it a supportive squeeze. She smiled and squeezed back. _I don't like this man, he is so loud. _


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys! Here is the next chapter! Here is hoping its not completely awful and rubbish! Please leave a review; I love hearing what you guys are thinking! Thanks again…

…

Natasha had got herself a little job in a café on 248 Mercer Street, she mainly wiped tables and made sure customers were satisfied with their drinks and cakes. She had been working since nine for three hours when Clint walked in and sat down close to the door. She walked over to him slowly and put on the best smile she could. "Good morning, what can I get for ya?" He looked her up and down and replied with stern look "Nothing this morning darling! I'm just waiting for my friend, he should be hear in a minute" She nodded and headed to the back of the café where her bag was stored and grabbed out her gun and slipped it underneath her green uniform apron.

As she re-entered the café floor another man walked in through the door and across to the counter. He was in his early twenties and his hair was a mess of auburn, eyes showing how little he had slept over the past few weeks. He glanced at the drinks list above where Natasha had stood behind the counter and reached for his wallet. "I'll just have a the black coffee please?" Natasha nodded but remained where she was stood. He frowned at her then repeated his order.

"I heard you the first time, sir," She said coolly as Clint stood and moved silently in behind the man. "I would just like to ask you a question?" He looked her up and down and sighed, not wanting to waste his time with silly customer service questions. "Look I don't have time for this I'm needed somewhere else!" He stepped back and bumped straight into Clint. "You might want to answer her question, Tom" The man froze at his name. Natasha grinned and took her apron off, exposing the gun. "You are Tom Goodwin, correct?" He shifted onto his right foot and swallowed. "You are from Shield aren't you?"

…

Jam woke in a start with her heart drumming in her head, she had dreamt of the moment the doctor began drilling. She could feel the straps around her wrists and ankles, she could feel her skin ripping as she tried to pull her limbs free, she could feel the pure fear and desperation consume her, then all she could hear was his footsteps and laughter. She stared down at her shaking hands and tried to take a deep breath only to have a whimper take its place. _Bruce?_

Bruce had used the shower before getting ready to leave for the lab when he heard a whimper through the bathroom door. He stood and listened for a few seconds and when he heard nothing but silence he carried on drying his hair with a towel. _Bruce?_ He stopped what he was doing, that was definitely Jam, he thought as he opened the bathroom door. "You ok Jam?" Concern flooded him as she curled into a ball on the bed shaking.

He moved over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong Jam? Look at me" he whispered as she glanced up at him with glistening wet eyes. "You had a bad dream?" His voice was a murmur. She felt herself crumple, all she wanted to do was collapse into him and cry. Bruce, almost as if he read her mind, sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms and rested his head against her own.

Bruce waited for as long as it took for her to calm down, seeing her in such pain made his chest tighten. His thoughts filled with questions like: Why would anyone hurt her? He moved his face to look into hers and smiled. "Promise me that when ever you are scared you call for me like you did a while ago? Ok?" She gazed into his brown eyes and nodded. Jemima knew that she would never call for any one else but Bruce.

Something inside her ached at his soft expression. She wrapped her arms around him still staring into his brown eyes. She took in every little detail of his face, from the way a few strands of his dark hair falls into a wave on the left of his forehead, to the way his lips curl at the ends to form a small natural smile. Bruce lifted his arm from her waist and ran his fingers through her white hair, and before he could catch himself he had let his lips fall onto hers.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey folks! Sorry about the late Chapter, I am stressed out my mind! I leave for five weeks in Peru tomorrow morning with out any form of Internet or technology so I'm afraid Chapter twelve will be with you in about five weeks… I'm so sorry! BUT I would love to hear any of your ideas for future chapters or any opinions on what I have written so far! Reviews make me smile! SO sorry once again, but also thank you for being awesome…

…

"What is the name of your organization?" Fury stared the suspect Tom down until he looked away from him. Tom had broken into a sweat the moment he stepped into the room. Fury had insisted that he do the interrogation, Tony thought it was mainly due to the fact that Fury liked to make people cry.

"Its not really an organization other then people working under the influence of another…" Toms voice trailed off into a murmur and before he could take a breath Fury was demanding more answers. "Fine, who do you work for?" "I work for Doctor Marks" "Who does Doctor Marks work for?" Tom stopped and swallowed before eyeing the door as if soon he would be allowed to just walk out of it. "I... I don't know"

Fury stared once more, he wasn't buying it, the lad knew something. "Why do I get the feeling you are lying to me?" Fury stood and paced the floor in front the now trembling reck.

Tom had actually met the Doctors benefactor once before, well more like seen him through the window of the doctors office, he knew exactly who it was though, from all the TV coverage of the Manhattan incident, and he also knew that he would be killed for saying. "All I know is that the Doctor gets orders from someone else, I have never seen or heard of this man" He glanced up at Fury and then shifted in his seat. "Jemima is ok though? I mean I left her here because I knew she would be in safe hands" Fury sighed and nodded.

"Lets do a trade" Fury suggested. "You tell me all you know about the Doctor and I shall tell you about the current circumstances of the girl" Tom looked up surprised that he would actually get an answer. "The lab is located out in Jersey City… erm… he has been working on this project for a long while, working towards creating cells that gave people the ability to heal. Jemima was an orphan with a brain tumor before he tested on her. But after she became better under the serum he created she started developing powers. Then the Doctor began working for this benefactor. I didn't realize until about a month ago that he had been torturing her too. So I got her out" Fury nodded, still completely unimpressed by the mans lack of information.

Tom gasped suddenly making Fury jump. He felt his brain start to rip apart and burn. His eyes flew wide and he knew this was his end, his whole body began to shake and his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his nose began to drip black onto the table. The last thing he can remember spitting out was "Loki… he will come back for her… he is the benefactor" Then he died, before Fury even had a chance to move an inch.

…

Jam stumbled into a room full of angry, confused and stressed faces all shouting their thoughts across at each other. Fury stood in the middle trying to get everyone to shut up. She froze just watching as everyone fought to be heard over each other.

"QUIET" Fury bellowed as everyone silenced them selves in fear of the man exploding into his own hulk. "Y'all all need to calm your asses down before I have a heart attack" The man paced in front of them sighed. "We need to talk to Thor before we rush to any conclusions. But Jam is to be moved into headquarters. I am not having her skipping about here attracting the wrong kind of attention."

Fury waved off Tony's agitated noise making before turning to Natasha. "You need to make sure that she is in a jet and in headquarters as soon as possible."

Bruce shifted in his seat. He looked to Tony who looked back and shrugged his shoulders with raised eyebrows. "Are we coming too?" Fury turned to Bruce and stared for a moment deep in thought. "As long as you try not to trash my hellicarrier again that's fine by me" Bruce looked back down to the table. He was sure that Loki was not a problem, but until they all knew for sure there was no way he was leaving Jam under Fury's complete protection.

"Right, I better go and pack my sleep over stuff then" Tony jumped up and headed for his room. He spotted Jam stood in the doorway and smiled "Ever been in a jet Jam?" She looked at him and shook her head. His hand ruffled up her hair as he grinned. "Ahh then you are in for a treat, Fury's flying castle of rainbows is a barrel of fun"


End file.
